Athletic shoe



V Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to boots and shoes, and particularly to shoes intended for use by athletes, and more particularly for use by football players.

It is an object of the invention to produce a 5 shoe havingcharacteristics-which will improve the efiect of the impact between the shoe and the ball when punting, it having been found that the smooth surface of that portion of the shoe at the toe'and instep imparts more sting and 10 an added distance from the same applied force.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a shoe having a greater ball engaging surface than those ordinarily in use, and through the absence of lacings at the toe and instep of 15 the shoe, greater accuracy results.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to produce a shoe having lacings at the side of the shoe and preferably on the inside thereof, making it possible to make the shoe conform to the 20 shape of the foot to a greater degree and increasing the stability of the attachment of the shoe on the instep and furthermore, the side lacing assists in bracing the foot.

It is a still further object of this invention. to

25 produce a shoe in which'the leather is preferably thicker at that portion covering'the toe and instep, as it has been found in practice that this materially adds to the punting distance and accuracy.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed. a

35 In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- 40 Figure 1 illustrates a view in side elevation of a shoe, partly in section; and

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, omitting parts of the shoe beyond the section. 45 In "the drawing, 5 denotes the sole of an ordinary shoe for football and athletics having an upper of the general contour of an ordinary football shoe, with the exception that the eyelet strips 6 and l are in spaced'relation to each 50 other at the side of the shoe, and these eyelet strips contain the usual lacing, 8. Preferably, a

tongue Shas'its inner end fastened to the shoe upper as at land it will occupyia space between the' eyelet strips.

As shown in the drawing, that part of the leather of the shoe between the eyelet strip 1 and the side of the upper I I opposite the eyelet strip is gradually increased in thickness to a location 12 which is immediately over the instep of the wearer when in place and the thickness is gradually reduced from that location to its edge that is connected to the sole. The portion E3 of the upper which is connected to the edge of the sole on the lacing side and which is en gaged by the lacing preferably corresponds in thickness to approximate that of the outer edge which is connected to the sole. The shoe 15 may have the usual linings l4 and I5, and a shoe made in accordance with the invention has been found to have the advantageous characteristics set forth initially herein.

By reason of the fact that the material is relatively thin at the sides of the shoe, the shoe is made to conform closely to the footand lost motion or rubbing is thereby obviated.

Under certain conditions, the gage of the leather may be changed to suit particular requirements and the inventor does not wish to be limited with respect to the details of construction except as they are included in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In an athletic shoe having a sole and an upper, characterizedby the upper being thicker over the instep and unobstructed to receive the impact of a football, and lacings at the side of the shoe.

2. In an athletic shoe having a'sole and an upper, characterized by the upper being thicker over the instep and unobstructed to receive the impact of a football, the leather at the sides of the upper being relatively thin and flexible, 40 and lacings at the side of the shoe.

3. An athletic shoe having a sole and an upper, characterized by having an opening at the side "of the shoe capable of affording access of the foot to the shoe, lacing eyelets at the edges of the material forming the opening, and lacings occupying the said eyelets and effective to hold the shoe in close contact with the foot of a user.

ELMER SMITH. 

